Anxiety is back during period time

[Anxious2befree]

Does anyone else get bad anxiety when they have their period ? Do you feel lightheaded, get weird feelings in your body, can't breath sometimes and constantly go to the loo ?

[pblife]

Yes I do every month. All the same symptoms... it's so horrible. My therapist first spotted that my anxiety was far worse leading up to and during my period!

[Anxious2befree in reply to pblife]

Thank you for your reply. I'm glad I'm not the only one. I have pains all in my sides and lower back pain it's terrible. I hate feeling like this. What do you do to help yourself when you get this ??

[pblife in reply to Anxious2befree]

I have the same, pain in my lower back and legs in particular, also stomach pains. The first two days are the worst. In the many years of periods I've now found I must do the following:

1) Take Ibuprofen or Paracetamol in the morning - don't let the pain set in.

2) If I can, get up early and have a nice hot bath

3) Make sure to have 30 minutes just to sit down and relax after the bath

4) Eat small amounts of food throughout the day, not big meals (this helps the dizziness)

5) Do a little bit of exercise, maybe 5 minutes skipping to take your mind off the anxiety.

6) If all that fails and it's the weekend, go back to bed with some comfort food and a film!

That's what I do, it doesn't always work. The worst thing for me is I get very emotional and it's a pain. Also, the physical symptoms feel very tiring.

You are not alone, hope you find some relief x

[Anxious2befree in reply to pblife]

Thank you for replying that's a huge help

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Me! I start having higher than normal anxiety like a week before my period and the week of. Then it calms down.